Tennessee picked up a new addition from a familiar name as Amari Jefferson is transferring back home to Tennessee after signing with Nick Saban and Alabama just over a year ago.
“Just with Saban retiring, and like his whole staff kind of me being close with them and them not being there anymore, I just kind of felt like I wanted to change and Tennessee was was very close in my recruitment out of high school and I feel very comfortable with the people up at Tennessee,” Jefferson said about his decision to leave Alabama for Rocky Top. “Getting back close to home is kind of what I just wanted to do and I think that’s the best place for me is to be at Tennessee.”
He came close to picking Tennessee out of high school, and some of the reasons that the Vols were very impressive to him still remain.
“Definitely the culture that coach Heup has instilled throughout the program and then coach Pope being a young receiver coach,” Jefferson said. “I think we will be able to get along very well and then also just me being so close and me being from the state of Tennessee, just being a Tennessee kid, I’ll be able to explore those opportunities and be able to take full advantage of being being from the state of Tennessee.”
Jefferson had hip surgery at the beginning on November and will soon be cleared to go through spring practice.
“I’ll be so I’ll be cleared at the beginning of February,” Jefferson said. “It was a minor procedure that I had an MRI back in March of my senior year and they kind of said that I needed to go ahead and get it, but I chose to play out my senior baseball season and then wait to get it when I got to Alabama and so I kind of feel like when I got it it was the perfect time and a perfect time for me to be able to be back for spring ball. So I’ll be all good to go and I should be better from it.”
After redshirting this season, Jefferson will have four years to play in Knoxville. He hopes to bring a work ethic and much more to the wide receiver room.
“Just a playmaker someone who can who can score for any part of the field,” Jefferson said. “Someone who is very explosive with great hands and great route running, and then just someone that can break the game open from anywhere on the field.”
2026 Virginia offensive lineman Darius Gray is not just one of the top offensive linemen in America, he is one of the top overall prospects in the country.
On Christmas Eve, he released his top schools list, which featured the Vols.
Gray was most recently in Knoxville for Tennessee’s regular season finale against UTEP. He has continued to be impressed by the Vols.
“It was great,” Gray told Volquest at the time of the visit. “It was great to see everybody again. I had a great time talking to everybody. It was a great atmosphere for not too big of a game. I was excited to be back and can’t wait to be back real soon.”
“Just what am I waiting on, I think that is the biggest message today,” Gray added. “They had a great game and everybody is in a great mood, so to see them happy and caring about their players just shows they care about more than just football.”
Gray really enjoyed what he saw from the Tennessee offensive line during the contest as well.
“It was great,” Gray said. “Everything they do from inside to gap to pulling their tackles and guards. It is great. I can see myself fitting in there well and being developed by Coach KP and Coach Elarbee and Coach Lab. They were able to move the ball constantly, not even just this game, but against Georgia as well. It was fun to see.”
So what is about Tennessee that stands out to the elite interior offensive line prospect?
“Everything from top to bottom,” the four-star said in November. “We can go from the head coach to the various assistant recruits. It is everybody. Everybody loves each other, and it is more than just football.”
Gray brought his family and trainer with him on the last visit as well.
“They enjoyed it,” Gray said of this. “I brought everybody. I brought my trainer as well. They had great reviews about it. I think we are very highly impressed by Tennessee and excited to continue to build this relationship.”
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